1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to cleaning implements. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cleaning implement head that releasable locks with a cleaning implement handle to maintain a fixed pivotal position of the cleaning implement head with respect to the cleaning implement handle during use of the cleaning implement.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cleaning implements that include a cleaning handle and an attached cleaning head have been available for some time. For example, traditional wet mops consisted of a handle and mop head, where the mop head is moistened with cleaning composition and then used to scrub hard surfaces, such as wood floors. Carpet sweepers have equally been available for some time. Carpet sweepers generally consist of a handle and sweeper mop head that uses the sweeping action to brush carpet soils into the sweeper head for later collection and disposal.
Lately new cleaning implements have been developed that may be used for dry or wet cleaning or both on hard surfaces. These implements consist of a handle and a connected head generally in the form of a flat plate to which a cleaning sheet or pad is attached. The sheet or pad may be dry, wet or wettable depending on the system or the desired use. An example of such an implement, which is useful for wet or dry cleaning, is Readimop® produced by The Clorox Corporation.
The most recent trend has been for these wet or dry cleaning implements to be made available to the consumer unassembled in parts. For example, certain cleaning implements were provided with segmented handles that were designed to be assembled by the user to form the completed handle. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/850,213, filed May 19, 2004 by Mitchell et al. is an example of this type of segmented handle, which is incorporated herein in its entirety. Further, the cleaning implement head was often provided unattached to the head end of the handle. The user attached the head to the handle before use of the cleaning implement. Providing the cleaning implement in this way permits the implement to be sold in a small store shelf sized box that may be more efficiently stocked than fully assembled cleaning implements. This provides two advantages, the first being relevant to the cost of packing and transporting the cleaning implements and the second being relevant to the convenience of the consumer in transporting the cleaning implement to their home.
One prior art method of assembling the head to the handle included screwing the head to a threaded end of the handle. Another prior art mechanism for assembling the cleaning head to the handle was to taper one end of handle at a certain draft angle. The tapered end of handle was then pushed in to a receiver hole or the interior of the hollow cylindrical portion or tube end of the head. The tube end of the head was not tapered or was tapered at a taper angle, sometimes referred to as a draft angle, greater than or equal to the draft angle of the head end of the handle. This provided for fitment of the handle into the aperture of the cleaning head.
Both of these mechanisms, however, result in a cleaning implement in which the cleaning head easily loosened or disassembled from the cleaning implement handle. For example, catching the cleaning head on a table leg and pulling often provide enough force to pull apart a tapered cleaning head to handle connection. Screw together mechanisms also easily loosened during use thereby weakening the head to handle connector.
Further, with prior art connectors, the head would often yaw, i.e., rotate about the central longitudinal axis of the handle, when the cleaning implement was in use. This yawing was especially disadvantageous in cleaning implements that had an ergonomic design, which relied on maintaining a fixed yawing rotational relationship of the cleaning head relative to the handle to provide efficient and effective gripping of the cleaning implement to avoid fatigue and strain during use. Cleaning heads that rotated about the handle did not maintain the specific ergonomic shape designed for the implement. For example, a handle may be designed to curve directly downward when the cleaning head is in contact with a horizontal surface. If the head rotates relative to the central axis of the handle, the curve of the handle skews left or right depending on the direction rotation of the head about the handle.
Still further, with threaded or tapered connectors, pivoting of the head about a handle lateral axis to pitch the head relative to the handle is not possible since the connects hold the head fixed laterally to the handle. To provide flexibility to pitch the head relative to the handle, a separate or integral pivot element, coupled to either the head or handle, was required. Further, pivot elements that allowed pitching of the cleaning head relative to the handle where often initially loose or became loose with wear. Thus, under these conditions, the head would often flop about back and forth and pitching up and down whenever the head has removed from a surface to which it was applied. The pitch of the head relative to the handle would change when the head was removed from the surface being cleaned. This made it more difficult to use the cleaning implement, and the pivot element and head to handle connector were stressed as the head pitched to readjust whenever the head was applied-removed-and-reapplied to the surface in a typical cleaning motion.
Thus, while there is a desire to provide cleaning implements that are convenient and adept at surface cleaning, there is a further need to provide these cleaning implement in a form that is both easy to ship and easy to assemble by a consumer. Still further, there is a desire to provide cleaning implements that facilitate proper assembly by a consumer and that are ergonomic and easy to use. Accordingly, there is currently a need for improved connector structures for coupling a cleaning implement head to a cleaning implement handle.